Gear Review: The Lifeproof iPhone Case

Since the iPhone explosion and the now ubiquitous photo sharing app known as Instagram, climbing photography has been revolutionized. No longer is a DSLR camera needed at the crag to take a "sick" photo of your buddy sending his proj. Now all you need is an iPhone and bam! Your latest gnarly pic looks good and is easily shared with a whole world through your one "do-it-all" device via social media. However, climbing is inherently hazardous to the life of your precious iPhone due to the wild environments and heights to which we expose the fragile electronic device. Not to worry, a case manufacturer by the name of Lifeproof has you covered. With a sleek two compartment design that completely encases your iPhone, your "do-it-all" device is now not only shock proof, but waterproof as well. At just a 33mm width, the Lifeproof case doesn't add a hefty bulk to your already elegantly designed iPhone, and plus, dropping it into that raging springtime river you're attempting to cross to reach a remote crag won't even phase the device. And as I just mentioned, the Lifeproof also completely encases the iPhone, and yes ... this includes the extremely breakable glass screen that more climbers seem to break than not. But with the Lifeproof design, you are less likely to crack the screen due to the plastic shield protecting it.

My major qualm with the Lifeproof iPhone case is the design of the headphone input. This headphone port is now deeply embedded within the case, and if your particular brand of headphone (I'm personally a Klipsch man) has a thicker cut of plastic surrounding the male jack, then you'll find yourself removing the case for your music listening pleasure. Removing the case over and over, however, will eventually wear on the plastic case, and the O-rings lining the case's insides--which waterproofs the case--will begin to fall out each time you pry off the tight Lifeproof case. This proves worrisome for the case's waterproofing capabilities and as I didn't have an iPhone to burn, I was unwilling to test this feature after removing the case several times a day for about two weeks.

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